Raising Responsible Children

Parents face a problem of sharing time with their children. Fewer hours spent with a child translates into lesser ability to understand and comprehend the issues faced by the children. Children feel isolated and thus start taking more independent decisions. This excess of liberty eventually means that they have an increased tendency to disobey their peers and parents.

Media’s RoleThe vacuum created by the parents has been filled in by the satellite channels, television stations, magazines and radio stations. Children are turning to this medium to use it as a guiding tool to make their decisions. There has been a sudden explosion of violence, gore and showcase of self-righteous celebrities on television. This has made the children more antisocial and aggressive and moral values are being lost.

Coping with the ChallengeParents should make a planned effort to raise responsible children. The parents have to understand the importance of finding a more flexible parental approach and avoid any extremes. Parenting has to be a balancing act between a number of emotions and issues like—

• Balancing Control and AffectionThe children respond better to parents who can balance affection with some level of parental authority. The affection has to be in the form of love and warmth and quality family time. But it should be accompanied with an appropriate level of parental control. The parents have to limit the children from taking undue advantage of their liberties. Parents should use their own example as a guiding plan to help the children when they are in distress. This kind of balance ensures scope for individual development and increased self-esteem in the child without compromising on the respect for parents.

• Balancing Family TimeToddlers do need a lot of time and physical affection. As the children grow, such needs become less. But parents shouldn’t abstain from praising their children. Children who have some kind of regular positive interaction with parents or have access to quality parent time are more confident and perform better, academically. Just talking with the child about his school day or games can help strengthen the parent-child relationship. However , spending time with children shouldn’t mean giving into every whim and fancy of the child or let the child blabber on, without putting up a decent argument.